Pork-like spending stalls 2026 budget as Lacson refuses to sign

National

PORK-like allocations for health assistance and farm-to-market roads have created a standoff in the Senate, with Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson refusing to sign the 2026 budget until reforms are made.

Lacson criticized the Department of Health’s P51.6 billion allocation for the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), calling it the “new face of pork barrel.”

He said the Senate had proposed realigning much of MAIFIP’s funding to support the Universal Health Care program because the current allocation could be vulnerable to political patronage. Lacson stressed that all health-related funds should fall under Universal Health Care to ensure coverage in all barangays and zero billing for indigent patients.

He added that safeguards could still be introduced during bicameral deliberations to prevent assistance from being distributed without proper assessment.

Lacson also opposed the Department of Agriculture’s farm-to-market road projects, which the bicam allocated P33 billion, more than double the P16 billion requested by President Marcos.

“Further, I will not associate myself with the P33 billion spending for unplanned and unvetted farm-to-market roads,” he said in a Philstar report.

The bicameral conference committee is still finalizing the 2026 General Appropriations Bill. The completed version will return to both chambers for ratification once the reconciliation process is finished.(MyTVCebu)